ATLANTA --In a massive upset, Eddie Yagin topped Mark Hominick, dropping the former featherweight No. 1 contender twice in the first two rounds and surviving a tense third to earn the most significant victory of his career.

Yagin won on points, as the judges scored the three-rounder for him by tallies of 29-28, 29-28, 28-29. Hominick had been as much as a 6-to-1 favorite to win th efight.

Yagin nearly knocked Hominick out in the first, flooring him with a right uppercut/left hook combo. He punished him with ground strikes that had ref Mario Yamasaki looking intently at the action, but he let it go, and Hominick held on, then got back to his feet and fought competitively for the rest of the round.

By the end of the first, Yagin's nose was bloodied while Hominick had developed a mouse under his right eye.

Hominick began finding his rhythm in the second, pumping out the jab while utilizing his significant reach advantage, but Yagin countered with leg kicks. About two minutes in though, Yagin dropped him again, this time with a straight right. Yagin went all-out for the finish but Hominick stayed active on the bottom.

Hominick eventually got to his feet and worked his kickboxing, but Yagin's power found its mark at times, too.

Likely realizing he was far behind, Hominick turned up his aggression in the final frame, letting his right hand go. He backed Yagin up repeatedly during the round and hurt him several times. Yagin's face was covered in blood by the final horn, but it still wasn't enough for Hominick.

Yagin, who won in the UFC for the first time, improved to 16-5-1, while Hominick lost for the third straight time and is now 20-11.